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Europe/Russia
United Kingdom | Diageo’s USD 1.2 billion restructuring scheme tells you everything about the premiumization myth that has dominated the alcohol industry for the past decade. As Vitali Dziadul noted on LinkenIn, “the spirits category spent years convincing investors that consumers would endlessly trade up, that premium and super-premium segments were recession-proof, that emerging middle classes in Asia would fuel limitless growth. Diageo leaned into this narrative harder than most. Now reality arrives. Sales are declining in North America and Asia Pacific simultaneously.”
Europe/Russia
United Kingdom | Puritans on the march: Westminster Council, the now-Conservative-run local authority that covers London’s most popular drinking spots, has set out its ambition to radically limit “vertical drinking” (drinking while standing up) under a revision of its licensing policies. A consultation document, shared by the Guardian newspaper on 9 August, proposed to either forcing venues to provide a “minimum number of seats at all times” or “requiring sales to be by waiter or waitress service only”.
Europe/Russia
Belgium | Ahead of the EBC 2026 in Rotterdam (69 September), Ina Verstl sat down with John Brauer to discuss how the EBC and the brewing industry have evolved since 2008, when he became Executive Officer. She also grabbed the opportunity and asked him to do a bit of crystal ball gazing – which he reluctantly agreed to.
Europe/Russia
Belgium | The Belgian families who helped built the world's largest brewer just sold EUR 731 million (USD 845 million) worth of its shares, media reported on 3 August. Through their investment vehicle Eugenie Patri Sebastien (EPS), the Van Damme, de Mevius, and de Spoelberch families offered about 10 million shares (the equivalent of 0.5 percent of AB-InBev’s outstanding shares) at EUR 73.10 apiece in a block trade in early August.
Europe/Russia
Germany | Despite significant growth in June, German beer sales saw an overall decline in the first half of 2026. From January through June, 38.45 million hl of beer were sold. That was 2.2 percent, or 855,000 hl fewer than in the same period last year, according to the German Brewers’ Association on 4 August.
Europe/Russia
United Kingdom | Earlier this year, Tilray Brands bought BrewDog's brand and some assets. This deal left BrewDog's circa 220,000 crowdfunding shareholders with no financial return. In hopes of buying BrewDog back, BrewDog's founder James Watt submitted a bid to Tilray Brands via his new venture – Second Best. As part of this process, the founder contacted BrewDog’s crowdfunders, aiming to offer equity in Second Best to those who had held a stake in BrewDog.
Europe/Russia
The Netherlands | Is this the first sign of a turnaround? Heineken reported forecast-beating first-half profit after cutting about 3000 jobs, roughly half of the up to 6,000 reductions targeted under a two-year restructuring plan, which shall help the brewer tackle weak beer demand across the industry and catch up with AB-InBev in areas such as efficiencies and shareholder returns.
Europe/Russia
Belgium | AB-InBev said the soccer world championship and a focus on its more premium labels helped lift revenue and earnings above expectations in its second quarter 2026, but a weakness in China tempered results, which were released on 30 July.
Europe/Russia
United Kingdom | At first it was Diageo Ireland, which was rumoured to lose about 150 jobs. Now details about further and deeper restructuring efforts are emerging. Some Diageo teams are cutting around 20 percent to 30 percent of their staff, after CEO Dave Lewis ordered deep reductions in overheads to revive performance at the world's top drinks firm, Reuters reported on 22 July. Mr Lewis, nicknamed “Drastic Dave” for restructuring efforts earlier in his career, joined Diageo in January.
Europe/Russia
Germany | Three months after the Herford brewery’s closure was announced, there is at least one piece of good news: The severance scheme is in place, media reported on 29 July. It came as a shock to the 220 brewery workers in Herford and Paderborn, when in early May, the Warsteiner Brewery announced that operations in Herford would terminate in August. The Paderborn brewery faces closure if no buyer is found by the end of the year.
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